sabina gartner-nitsche

April 24 2026

Arcandia: from Storytelling to Stewardship at Home with Maria Ordóñez and Pablo Palacious

Environmental change doesn’t start with policy—it starts with people. Arcandina shows how storytelling can turn awareness into everyday action, beginning in the family.

Introduction

What if the path to environmental stewardship began not with data, but with a story?

That’s the idea behind Arcandina, an award-winning children’s television series created by María Elena Ordóñez and co-led by Pablo Palacios. Broadcast across the Americas, the series uses animated characters, humor, and emotion to inspire children—and their families—to care for the natural world.

But Arcandina goes beyond entertainment. It represents a carefully designed approach to behavior change, combining education, emotion, and community action. As Palacios explained during their Earth Talks presentation, “This is not only a project—it’s a way of life.”

Today, their work is evolving from storytelling on screen to stewardship at home, with a growing focus on helping families translate inspiration into daily sustainable habits.

Key Insights

Storytelling Builds Emotional Connection

At the heart of Arcandina is a simple but powerful idea: people protect what they feel connected to.

The series follows a group of animal characters—each representing endangered species—who travel the world teaching others to care for nature. Their stories are designed to resonate emotionally, especially with children.

“Stories that touch the heart can change how we care for the Earth." María Elena Ordóñez

“We speak with stories to the heart,” said Ordóñez. “When children laugh, it opens the door to learning.”

Rather than focusing on fear or statistics, Arcandina uses humor, adventure, and relatable characters to create empathy. This emotional engagement is what makes the lessons stick—and what turns passive viewers into active participants.

Characters as Role Models for Change

Arcandina’s characters are more than entertainment—they are carefully crafted role models.

Each character blends animal traits with human personalities, allowing children to see themselves reflected in the story. Some are brave, others shy; some are curious, others cautious. This diversity helps children identify with the characters and imagine their own role in protecting the environment.

Key Takeaways

Storytelling builds emotional connections that inspire environmental action.
Children engage deeply, but family involvement is essential for lasting change.
Characters can model sustainable behaviors in relatable ways.
Small, repeatable habits drive meaningful environmental impact.
Community action strengthens commitment and scales solutions.

The show’s villain, Ratasura, adds humor while highlighting destructive behaviors. Yet he plays an important role: sparking emotional reactions that reinforce environmental values.

“We wanted children to feel empathy and connection,” Ordóñez explained. “That’s how change begins.”

From Awareness to Action

Arcandina is grounded in a three-part framework:

Education (knowledge)
Emotion (connection)
Community action (behavior)

This approach—known as “educommunication”—combines learning with storytelling to drive real-world impact.

“When you start small, sustainability becomes a habit for life.” Pablo Palacios

The results are tangible. Through workshops, media, and community initiatives, Arcandina has helped:

Plant thousands of trees
Organize river clean-ups
Reach thousands of children and educators

In one example, a botanical garden director shared that he implemented water-saving practices inspired by a single Arcandina episode.

“That moment,” Palacios noted, “is more powerful than any scientific explanation.”

The Missing Link: Families

Despite strong engagement from children, Arcandina’s research revealed a critical gap: behavior change often stops at home.

Children are eager to act—recycling, saving water, reducing waste—but parents don’t always follow through. This creates a ceiling on impact.

“The children want to do something,” Palacios explained, “but the parents limit that participation.”

This insight has shaped Arcandina’s next phase: shifting focus from children alone to entire families. By engaging parents alongside children, the initiative aims to turn individual awareness into shared household habits.

Small Habits, Big Impact

A recurring theme in the presentation is simplicity.

“Children are ready to act—but families must act with them.” Pablo Palacios

Rather than overwhelming people with large-scale goals, Arcandina promotes small, repeatable actions—shorter showers, recycling, and reducing plastic use. These habits, practiced consistently, create lasting change.

This mirrors broader sustainability efforts, such as weekly action challenges introduced by the Rotary Earth Network, encouraging one manageable change at a time.

“When you start,” Palacios emphasized, “it becomes a habit.”

Practical Implications

Arcandina’s approach offers a practical roadmap for anyone working in sustainability, education, or community engagement.

Lead with emotion, not information.
Facts matter, but feelings drive action. Stories can translate complex environmental issues into something personal and relatable.
Start early—but include everyone.
Children are powerful change agents, but lasting impact requires family participation. Programs should engage households, not just individuals.
Focus on habits, not heroics.
Small, consistent actions—reducing water use, minimizing waste—are more effective than ambitious but unsustainable efforts.
Use creativity as a tool for change.
Whether through storytelling, art, or media, creative approaches can reach audiences that traditional education cannot.
Build community around action.
Initiatives like “mingas” (collective community work) show that shared experiences reinforce commitment and create momentum.

Ultimately, Arcandina reminds us that environmental stewardship is not just a technical challenge—it’s a human one. And the solutions may begin with something as simple as a story told at home.

About This Earth Talk

Speakers:

María Elena Ordóñez – Children’s storyteller, TV director, and environmental education expert; creator of Arcandina.

Pablo Palacios – Behavior-change expert, filmmaker, and co-founder of Arcandina and Cimerron Cinema.

Date Presented:
Earth Talks session (2026)

Links:
🎥 Watch on YouTube
🎧 Listen as a Podcast
📖 Read the Blog
🌱 Learn more / Project links: Minga Mudial, Arcandina Blog,

April 16 2026

From Bees to Forests: Growing Solutions for People and Planet with Mario Figus and Rajendrakumar V Saraf

As pollinators decline and cities heat up, two grassroots projects show how restoring nature can also restore lives—inside prisons and beyond.

Introduction

Across the world, pollinators are disappearing, cities are overheating, and biodiversity is shrinking. Yet in two very different corners of the globe—an Italian prison in Sardinia and an open correctional facility in India—solutions are quietly taking root.

In this Earth Talk, environmental engineers Mario Figus and Rajendrakumar V. Saraf share how beekeeping and dense micro-forests can revive ecosystems while offering something equally powerful: purpose and opportunity for people often left behind. Their message is simple but compelling—when we rebuild nature, we can also rebuild lives.

Key Insights

Pollinators as a Gateway to Restoration

Pollinators like bees are essential to food systems and biodiversity, yet their populations are declining due to habitat loss, pesticides, and climate change. Figus’s project tackles this crisis by creating pollinator gardens and beekeeping programs—starting in an unexpected place: prison grounds.

Inside a correctional facility near Cagliari, Italy, a once-unused strip of land has been transformed into a thriving pollinator habitat. Carefully selected for sunlight, wind protection, and biodiversity potential, the site now supports flowering plants and future beehives.

“Don’t be scared—bees can transform both ecosystems and lives.” Mario Figus

The project goes beyond conservation. It reconnects people with natural systems.
As Figus explains, “Don’t be scared”—a phrase that became the project’s name—captures both the fear of bees and the broader hesitation people feel toward change.

By reframing bees as allies rather than threats, the initiative opens the door to ecological awareness and hands-on learning.

Beekeeping Behind Bars: Skills That Matter

The beekeeping program is as much about people as it is about pollinators. Inmates participate in a structured training course combining theory and practice—learning bee biology, hive management, and honey production.

Participants are carefully selected, often based on their proximity to release or their vulnerability. The goal is clear: equip them with skills they can use to reintegrate into society.

“Many times these courses… keep their mind busy and give them freedom within prison life,” Figus notes.

Key Takeaways

Pollinator gardens and beekeeping restore biodiversity while teaching valuable life skills.
Prison-based programs can support rehabilitation through environmental stewardship.
Miyawaki forests grow 10× faster and are 30× denser than traditional planting.
Dense urban forests improve air quality, cool cities, and capture carbon.
Community partnerships make small-scale projects scalable and sustainable.

The program also builds confidence and responsibility. Inmates help construct hives in prison workshops, manage colonies, and eventually process honey in a purpose-built lab. Even small-scale production—starting with just five hives—creates a sense of ownership and achievement.

Today, over 300 inmates are involved in beekeeping projects across twelve prisons in Italy with three Rotary Clubs. Figus hopes that projects like this are replicated on a large scale.

The Eco Club Network and District 2080 are planning an in-person Rotary networking event to strengthen Rotary networks focused on environmental sustainability and connections, fostering broader collaboration among clubs and developing environmental projects on a larger scale, including major projects exceeding $2,000,000.

This is rehabilitation through nature: practical, dignified, and forward-looking. Figus adds, “I believe that if we combine our dreams and our ability to engage our fellow Rotarians, no challenge is insurmountable.”

From Concrete to Canopy: The Power of Miyawaki Forests

While bees restore ecosystems at a micro level, Saraf’s work focuses on transforming entire landscapes using the Miyawaki method—a technique for growing dense, native forests in small urban spaces.

In a large prison complex in Maharashtra, India, a two-acre plot is being converted into a “mini forest” with remarkable characteristics:

Up to 30 times denser than conventional plantations
Growth rates up to 10 times faster
Multiple vegetation layers, from ground cover to tall canopy

Dense forest project is being implemented on the land provided by Mr. Suhas Warke (IPS) Additional Director General of Police and Inspector General of Prisons and Correctional Services, Pune, Maharashtra. Rotary Club of Pune Tilak Road is executing the project handed over by Environment Avenue of RID 3131.

Unlike traditional tree planting, Miyawaki forests mimic natural ecosystems. Diverse species grow together, forming symbiotic relationships that strengthen resilience and reduce disease.

“The trees… have a symbiotic relationship. Their roots talk with each other,” Saraf explains.

This approach turns degraded or unused land into self-sustaining ecosystems within just a few years.

Cooling Cities and Capturing Carbon

Urban areas are increasingly affected by the “heat island” effect, where concrete and asphalt trap heat, raising temperatures and worsening air quality.

“The trees have a symbiotic relationship. Their roots talk with each other.” Rtn Rajendrakumar V. Saraf

Dense micro-forests offer a powerful countermeasure. They:

Absorb carbon dioxide more efficiently than sparse plantings
Improve air quality by filtering pollutants
Cool surrounding areas through shade and natural evaporation
Enhance soil health and water retention

Saraf highlights another benefit: oxygen production. During crises like COVID-19, the importance of clean air became painfully clear. Projects like these provide localized, natural solutions.

The result is not just environmental improvement, but healthier, more livable urban spaces.

Nature as Rehabilitation and Community Builder

Both projects share a deeper purpose: human transformation.

In India, inmates in an open prison actively plant and maintain the forest. Over time, they become stewards of the land, responsible for its growth and protection.

In Italy, beekeeping fosters patience, teamwork, and care—qualities that extend beyond prison walls.

When we restore nature, we create better environments—and better futures for people Rtn Rajendrakumar V. Saraf

These initiatives also build bridges between institutions and communities. Partnerships with Rotary clubs, environmental organizations, and local experts ensure long-term support and scalability.

The impact is both ecological and social. As Saraf notes, such spaces can become “very good… spots for enjoying life,” attracting visitors and reconnecting people with nature.

Practical Takeaways & Implications

These projects offer a blueprint for scalable, community-driven environmental solutions:

Start small, think big
A few beehives or a small plot of land can spark meaningful change. Both projects begin modestly but are designed to grow.
Design for local conditions
From wind protection in Sardinia to soil analysis in India, success depends on adapting to local environments.
Integrate people into the solution
Training, participation, and ownership are key. When people are involved, projects become sustainable.
Combine environmental and social goals
Restoring ecosystems and supporting vulnerable populations are not separate challenges—they can be addressed together.
Build partnerships
Collaboration with experts, institutions, and community groups ensures technical quality and long-term viability.

Ultimately, these initiatives show that environmental action doesn’t require perfect conditions—just creativity, commitment, and collaboration.

About This Earth Talk

Speakers:
Mario Figus – Environmental engineer specializing in soil and groundwater remediation; Rotary sustainability leader since 2002.
Rajendrakumar V. Saraf – Environmental engineer with 55 years of experience; Rotary District Environment Chair with 11 patents.

Date Presented:
16 April 2026

Links:

📖 Read the Blog

🎥 Watch on YouTube

🎧 Listen as a Podcast

April 10 2026

The Green Belt – Borders Separate, Nature Unites with Sabina Gärtner-Nitsche

A former Cold War divide is now a living corridor for biodiversity, climate resilience, and collaboration.

Introduction

Once a symbol of division, Germany’s former inner border has become a powerful symbol of unity—through nature. Stretching over 1,300 kilometers, the Green Belt traces the path of the old Iron Curtain, now transformed into one of Europe’s most valuable ecological corridors. In this Earth Talk, Sabina Gärtner-Nitsche shares how this historic scar is being restored into thriving wetlands, forests, and habitats.

Her message is both practical and hopeful: environmental action doesn’t require perfection—it starts with awareness, collaboration, and local engagement. By linking Rotary clubs with restoration efforts, the Green Belt is becoming more than a conservation project. It’s a model for how communities can turn past divisions into shared environmental solutions.

Key Insights

A Border Reclaimed by Nature

The Green Belt follows the former boundary between East and West Germany—once heavily guarded and largely untouched by human development. Ironically, this isolation allowed ecosystems to flourish.

“Borders once divided us. Nature now unites us.” Sabina Gärtner-Nitsche

Today, the corridor is a biodiversity hotspot, connecting habitats across landscapes and even national borders. It forms part of a much larger European Green Belt that stretches over 12,500 kilometers across 24 countries.

Rather than erasing history, the project preserves it. “It is not only the environment,” Gärtner-Nitsche explains. “It is also history, education, and a path to the future.” A healthy environment is a building block for world peace.

Wetlands: The Quiet Climate Champions

At the heart of the initiative is a focus on restoring wetlands—often overlooked ecosystems with outsized impact.

Drained marshes and degraded peatlands are being revived to store water, absorb carbon, and support wildlife. These areas act like natural sponges, reducing flood risks during heavy rainfall while also locking away greenhouse gases.

Key Takeaways

Germany’s Green Belt transforms a former border into a biodiversity corridor.
Wetland restoration boosts carbon storage and reduces flood risks.
One hectare can offset roughly 10 tons of CO₂ annually.
Partnerships with experts are essential for effective environmental action.
Small local actions can scale into long-term, systemic impact.

“We learned that wetlands are a game changer,” Gärtner-Nitsche says. “They help keep water in the ground and reduce the danger of floods.”

By removing water-intensive trees like spruce and allowing natural vegetation to return, restoration teams are bringing these landscapes back to life—often within just a few seasons.

From Carbon Footprint to Climate Action

One of the most practical aspects of the project is its connection to everyday behavior—especially within Rotary clubs.

Gärtner-Nitsche encourages organizations to calculate their carbon footprint, noting that an average club produces about 10 tons of CO₂ annually. Travel, food, and meetings are the main contributors.

Her solution is simple: reduce what you can, then compensate the rest.

“Wetlands are a game changer for climate and flood protection.” Sabina Gärtner-Nitsche

“One hectare of restored land can offset about 10 tons of carbon dioxide,” she explains. That means a single land purchase can effectively make a club carbon-neutral.

This creates a direct, tangible link between local emissions and global restoration—turning abstract climate goals into measurable action.

Collaboration Makes It Work

A key lesson from the project is that passion alone isn’t enough—partnerships are essential.

Early attempts to encourage clubs to start their own environmental projects stalled due to lack of expertise. The breakthrough came when Gärtner-Nitsche connected Rotary with environmental professionals already working along the Green Belt.

From cross-border wetland restoration to multi-country river projects, collaboration unlocks scale and impact. Rotary’s role becomes one of support—funding land purchases, contributing volunteer labor, and raising awareness.

“Find partners,” she advises. “That’s the best you can do.”

Hands-On Action Builds Connection

Beyond funding, the project emphasizes physical engagement with nature.

Volunteers help remove invasive or unsuitable trees, restore water flow, and maintain habitats. In just a few hours, small groups can accomplish work that would otherwise take professionals weeks.

“Small actions, done together, can transform entire landscapes.” Sabina Gärtner-Nitsche

These experiences create more than environmental benefits—they build emotional connection. Participants see the land change before their eyes, strengthening their commitment.

There’s also a personal dimension: donors can “adopt” restored land and even monitor it remotely through wildlife cameras. “You can watch what’s happening on your land while drinking your morning coffee,” Gärtner-Nitsche notes.

Practical Takeaways & Implications

The Green Belt offers a replicable model for community-driven environmental action. Its success lies in combining three elements: measurable impact, local engagement, and strong partnerships.

First, start with awareness. Use carbon footprint calculators to understand your organization’s environmental impact. Focus on practical reductions—carpooling, public transport, and plant-based meals can make a meaningful difference.

Second, think beyond reduction. Compensation through ecosystem restoration—whether wetlands, forests, or mangroves—creates lasting climate benefits. The key is choosing projects with proven ecological value.

Third, collaborate. Most communities already have environmental experts, NGOs, or government programs in place. Rather than starting from scratch, support and scale what exists.

Finally, make it tangible. Hands-on activities, storytelling, and visible results keep people engaged. Environmental work becomes more meaningful when participants can see and feel the impact.

As Gärtner-Nitsche’s work shows, sustainability is not about perfection—it’s about persistence. Small, consistent actions, when aligned with larger systems, can transform landscapes—and mindsets.

About This Earth Talk

Speaker: Sabina Gärtner-Nitsche
A Munich-born administrative lawyer at Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees, Sabina is a longtime Rotarian and former District Governor (2023/24), active in global health and sustainability initiatives.

Date Presented: April 2026

Links:

📖 Read the Blog

🎥 Watch on YouTube

🎧 Listen as a Podcast

🌱 Learn more / Project links